Connecticut panel recommends Mental Health First Aid for educators

By Mary E. O'Leary

Monday, February 25, 2013

HARTFORD -- State Sen. Gayle Slossberg, D-Milford, said the subcommittee on mental health established in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre is recommending school personnel be trained in Mental Health First Aid as an initial step to help students in crisis.

The subcommittee is one of three named by lawmakers to look into legislation the state can adopt to address a mental health system which, according to testimony and previous studies, has serious gaps in psychiatric coverage for all ages, but particularly children, adolescents and young adults.

The subcommittee, which is headed by state Sen. Toni Harp, D-New Haven, and state Rep. Terri Wood, R-Darien, has sent a draft of those items where they found consensus to the leadership of the state House and Senate for inclusion in a bill to be drafted by mid-March.

Slossberg said Bridges Milford -- A Community Support System is one of the agencies that offers training for the first aid course.

Barry Kasden, president and CEO of Bridges, said a number of groups have taken the course, including police and other first responders, to help them be more sensitive and identify the early signs of mental illness or substance abuse.

He described it as a starting point to help give people a basic understanding of the illness and how to talk to people about it. Kasden said it is a beginning attempt to educate the public.

The program involves a 12-hour course that aims to train professionals how to connect those in crisis with the appropriate counselor.

Slossberg said after extensive testimony from parents who can't get mental health treatment for their children, where private insurance coverage is minimal, it was obvious that the biggest gap is for teens and young adults ages 16 to 25, a time when many mental illnesses become apparent.

The state senator said the recommendation is for futher study to address the gaps in commercial insurance and the shortage of psychiatrists.

"We have significant populations at risk," Slossberg said, an issue that isn't confined to Connecticut.

During the long day of testimony on mental health issues, professionals stressed the need for early diagnosis and intervention for troubled children.

Slossberg said the committee agreed on a recommendation to coordinate the cases of young adults who go through the probate court for involuntary psychiatric committment.

She said the committee was also impressed with the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project that trains pediatricians on how to help their patients with mental illness.

There have been numerous studies over the years on the inadequacies of the mental health system and the lack of mental health parity with physical ailments and the recognition that major changes are necessary.

The slaying of 20 first-graders and six educators by Adam Lanza on Dec. 14 at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown has started a national conversation on mental health, school security and gun control, with the last item the most controversial as the state and nation remain divided on how far reforms should go.